A Matter of Trust (4 page)

Some of the bolder – perhaps sluttier
would be a more apt descriptor? – approached the bar to request
another drink and oh so casually made conversation with Jake as
they waited for the bartender to bring them their drinks. Trish
found it extremely irritating. She wasn’t sure why it was so
irritating, but it definitely was, and she didn’t like it one bit.
She didn’t know which irritated her more, the women themselves or
the fact that they were flirting with – no, actually they were
throwing themselves at – Jake. She shook herself and reminded
herself Jake was a big boy and could take care of
himself.

Determined to put Jake and his
prospective harem out of her mind, Trish dove straight into the
conversation with the girls and another margarita. Jake was a free
agent, and his love life was none of her business. What did she
care if he slept with every one of the tacky bar flies which
approached him? She doubted all of them together had the IQ she
did. Sure, they were pretty, but looks weren’t everything, right?
Besides, she wouldn’t exact use ‘wall flower’ to describe herself,
when she put her mind to it.

An hour later, Trish continued to
watch as woman after woman flaunted herself at Jake. Ridiculous.
Jake was her friend. And friends helped friends out, didn’t they?
She would save her friend from all this unsolicited attention. It
was her duty. As his friend.

Trish stood up and walked over to the
bar. When she got there, some woman that reminded her of a dirty
street whore was leaning across the bar, making the most of her
cleavage, and trying to get Jake’s attention. It amazed Trish that
her lips didn’t slide right off the edge of her glass, as much lip
gloss as she’d slathered on. Enough.

“
Excuse me.” Not waiting
for the likely prostitute to take her not so subtle hint, Trish
grabbed Jake’s arm and pulled him around to get his attention. “I
feel bad that you’re sitting over here all alone.” She looked
pointedly to the bimbo next to him. “Why don’t you come and join
us, Jake?”

“
I thought you wanted some
girl time. I don’t want to intrude.”

“
You won’t be. Come on.”
Not waiting for his agreement, she grabbed his arm and pulled him
toward the table where her friends were waiting. She couldn’t
resist throwing a pleased look over her shoulder at the wannabe
hooker.
Get your hooks in someone else
tonight, you sleazy haybag.

Eva and Callie watched the entire
display with avid attention. Very interesting. Better than TV, in
fact. The two friends looked at each other and knew at a glance
that they were both thinking the same thing. No words were
needed.

“
Are you sure you ladies
don’t mind if I join you? I was perfectly fine at the bar. I
thought the whole point of girls’ night out meant you bad mouthed
us guys. I know you girls like your privacy for that kind of stuff,
and I’m not sure I can stay quiet and not defend us poor boys who
are at your mercy. You girls can get real mean when you travel in
packs.”

“
Apparently not the women
hanging all over you tonight. They didn’t look like they had mean
in mind at all.” Jake looked at Trish with a question in his eyes.
“You know who I’m talking about. All those hussies that kept
sauntering over to you trying to get your attention.”

Callie and Eva looked at each other
again, then at Trish, and finally at Jake.

“
Hussies? Come on.”
Well now, this was interesting. Trish couldn’t be
jealous. Could she?
Jake decided he had to
find out.

“
Yes, hussies. Women
should have more pride in themselves than that. It was disgusting
seeing them flaunt themselves and vie for your attention like
that.”

“
They seemed like nice
ladies to me.” Jake smiled slowly and couldn’t wait to hear her
response.

“
Ha! Floosies, every one
of them. I finally took pity on you and decided to put a stop to
it. You owe me one.”

“
You’re a real pal, Trish.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Trish studied Jake’s face. “Are you
being sarcastic? Did you want me to leave you to them? If you were
interested, you should’ve said something. Go back there if you want
to. I was just trying to help. Frankly, I thought you had better
taste than that.”

This made for really great news. She
cared, and she showed tendencies towards being possessive and even
a little jealous. “No, no. I’m happy right here, and I’m not being
sarcastic. You really are a pal. Thanks for watching out for me.
I’ll be sure to return the favor. Ready for another round?” When
they all nodded, Jake signaled for the waitress.

Over two hours and several drinks
later, Jake ushered all three ladies to his truck for the return
trip. They were all very happy and very inebriated. And they were
all laughing uncontrollably at who knew what. More than likely,
they couldn’t tell them what they found so funny, so he didn’t
bother asking. He dropped Callie off first, escorting her to the
door where Cade claimed her and managed to help her aim her lips
towards his own. Finally. Eva was next. Josh met him at the truck,
and after plenty of giggles and a noticeable lack of ability to
walk a straight line, he picked her up and carried her inside. She
waved goodnight over Josh’s shoulder and sighed
contentedly.

“
I think those drinks have
had too many girls, don’t you?” Trish aimed her comment in Jake’s
general vicinity.

“
They’re not the only
ones, sweetheart.”

Trish tried to focus on him, but had a
hard time. She found the whole thing very funny, though, and she
couldn’t stop laughing. “You’re such a nice guy, Jake.”

“
Thanks, Trish. You’re a
nice girl, too. How are you feeling?”

“
I feel grrreat! I can’t
tell you how long it’s been since I had a girls’ night out. Present
company excluded. I think it was before I was pregnant with
Lexie.”

“
You should get out more,
Trish. Look at how much fun you’re having. It’s good for
you.”

“
Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe
if it was just girls, like tonight. I miss dancing sometimes. I
just feel so old sometimes, like that part of my life is over. Fun
is done. Hey, that rhymes. Fun, done.”

“
The fun doesn’t have to
be done, silly girl. Nobody’s too old to have fun. Stick with me. I
guarantee you’ll have fun. I’m a fun guy.”

“
You’re also a very sexy
guy, but I can’t tell you that. All those women coming on to you. I
didn’t much care for it myself.”

“
How come?”

“
That’s a very good
question. Damned if I have an answer for you though. I guess I’ll
have to think about it for awhile.”

“
You do that,
Trish.”

“
They were hay bags, every
last one of them. Not good enough for you, Jake. You need a woman
who’s smart, honest, hard working, and faithful. You need a woman
like me, Jake. I’m all of those things.”

“
Are you applying for the
job, Trish?”

“
I don’t think so. That
would not be wise, I don’t think. Or maybe it would. I’m not at all
sure right now. What do you think?”

“
I think you should
seriously consider it. We like each other. You think I’m sexy, and
I sure think you’re sexy, especially tonight. You should wear your
hair down more. It looks good like that. Anyway, can you think of
any reason why we shouldn’t hook up?”

“
Yep.”

“
What’s that?”

“
Because I’d rather be
alone. I think. You’re mixing me up. I was just fine until all
those loosy goosies started hanging all over you. I don’t know why
it bothered me so much, but it did. I’d made up my mind to just
raise my kids and stay all by myself. That’s really for the best,
Jake, it really is.”

“
Is it because of Pete? I
can’t believe he’d want you to spend your life alone. I didn’t know
him very well, but he seemed like a nice guy. You can’t go on
grieving for him for the rest of your life.”

“
He did seem like a nice
guy, didn’t he? Maybe he was, but it sure didn’t end well. Pete had
a hidden side, and it wasn’t pretty. I’m never going to put myself
in a position like that again. I’d rather be alone. And FYI, I am
not grieving for him. I’m ashamed to say that I never have. I think
I must be a very bad person.”

“
Sweetheart, you’re not
making any sense. What was it about Pete that turned you off of
love and relationships? And you’re not a bad person,
Trish.”

“
I am, Jake. I really am.
Not very many people know this, Jake, but I was going to leave
Pete. I’d already filed for divorce. Then, he … died.”

“
I’m sure that you had
your reasons for leaving, Trish. Come on inside. We’re back at your
place.”

“
This isn’t my place,
Jake. This is my parents’ place. I’m twenty eight years old, and
I’m living with my parents. That is so embarrassing.”

“
Get your own place,
then.”

“
I have terrible credit,
Jake. Not my fault, but there you go. I’m the only one around to
face the music.”

“
I know a couple of places
looking for renters. Let me know if you’re interested, and I’ll see
what I can do.”

“
I can’t let anyone,
especially a man, help me. You can’t trust ‘em, Jake. You think
they’re watching out for you and your best interests, but then you
find out that they’ve ruined your life.”

“
Don’t think of it as
relying on a man. Just think of it as one friend helping out
another. You helped me tonight by warning off all those … hussies
was it? – so now I can help you move into a place of your
own.”

“
See, Jake that’s what I
mean. You are such a nice guy.”

“
Why don’t you give me
your key, and I’ll see you inside.”

“
Okay, my friend. Here you
are.” Trish handed over the keys to thin air, and they fell with a
loud clank on the porch. She thought it was hilarious. Jake picked
up the keys and opened the door.

“
Tell you what, why don’t
I pour you into bed, and then I’ll see myself out, okay? You’re
liable to fall down before you get there without any help.” Jake
took her hand and asked her to direct him, which she did. “There
you go, Trish. I’ll call you in the morning. Don’t forget you
promised me dinner tomorrow night.”

“
Okey dokey. Hey, aren’t
you going to kiss me goodnight?”

“
Do you want me
to?”

“
Hell, yes, I want you to.
I haven’t been kissed in forever, and you look like a good kisser
to me. And you’re my friend. Kiss me, friend.”

Trish slung her arms around Jake’s
neck and puckered up. He kissed her on the forehead and lifted his
head to look down at her.

“
You call that a kiss? My
granny kisses better than …”

Jake swooped down and kissed her like
he’d wanted to for months. Trish felt the passion Jake’s kiss
brought with it and drank it in. She was right. The man could
definitely kiss. This time when he lifted his head and looked at
her, she looked a little dazed.

“
Wow! You really are a
good kisser, Jake. Yummy.” She pulled his head down for more, and
he obliged her for several minutes, until they were both out of
breath. “Stay with me tonight.”

Jake took a deep breath and braced his
forehead against hers. “Ask me tomorrow, and I will. Tonight, you
need to go to bed. Alone. Now, before all my good intentions go
down the drain, stop looking at me like that.”

“
Like what?”

“
All warm and cuddly. Come
on, in bed with you.”

“
Oh, alright. But you sure
are a good kisser, Jake. I’ll see you tomorrow night for dinner.
And we can have sex for dessert.”

Jake lifted an eyebrow. “We’ll see.
Goodnight, Trish the dish. I’ll lock the door on my way
out.”

“’
Kay. Nighty night, Jake
the snake. Shake and bake.” Trish laid her head on the pillow and
was out cold in under a minute.

Jake looked at her, smiled, and called
himself all kinds of fool for not curling up next to
her.

Chapter 3

Callie called her at nine the next
morning and woke Trish up. “Hey, Trish, how are you feeling this
morning?”

Trish tried to sit up but quickly fell
back down on her pillow. “Oh, my head. How could you let me overdo
it so much last night? What kind of friend are you,
anyway?”

“
The kind that endorses
misery loving company. I don’t feel any better than you do. I just
got off the phone with Evita, and she’s in just as bad a state as
we are. The next time we have a girls’ night out, we better stick
to the movies or something equally tame. How many drinks do you
think we had last night?”

“
Who the hell knows? I
don’t remember paying the tab, do you? I hope we didn’t
skip.”

“
No, Jake picked it up.
Speaking of my brother, you certainly were aggravated at all the
women hanging around him last night. What gives?”

Silence.

“
Trish, are you
there?”